Multicomponent package

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a multicomponent package having an outer container (1), a screw cap (4) screwed thereon, and an inserted cup (2, 3) the bottom (6, 7) of which has a predetermined breaking line (10, 11) which can be acted on by an impact edge (8&#39;, 9&#39;) which is aligned with the annular step (14, 15), and it proposes, in order to obtain a solution which is particularly favorable in use, that there be provided at least one additional inserted cup (3), which is centered in the first inserted cup (2), the cup wall (21) of which, continued in axial direction beyond the bottom of the cup, forms an impact collar (9) of its own.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multicomponent package.

Such a multicomponent package is known from EP 0 133 293. Thetwo-component package proposed there provides for an inserted cup whichcan be inserted into the neck opening of an outer container so that twocomponents of the outer container and the inserted cup can be storedseparately. By screwing down the screw cap beyond the basic salesposition the annular step of the bottom of the cup is struck by animpact edge so that the predetermined breaking line is broken and theinserted cup drops into the outside container so that the two componentsare brought together. Such a cup, however, needs improvement since itcan receive only two components separately and furthermore, due to thecomplete breaking off of the bottom of the cup, said bottom may comeinto a blocking position in front of the discharge opening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention therefore is to improve thepossibilities of use of a multicomponent package of this type, which isof simple structural shape.

By virtue of the invention, a multicomponent package is obtained whichhas several inserted cups which can be placed one within the other. Afirst inserted cup is inserted firmly into the neck opening of the outercontainer. One or more second inserted cups are inserted into the firstinserted cup. By further screwing down the screw cap beyond the basicsales position, a predetermined breaking line of each inserted cup istorn. For this purpose, the annular steps are acted on by the impactedge of an impact collar. The cup wall of a second insert cup isadvantageously so continued in axial direction on its bottom side thatit forms the impact collar for the tearing of the predetermined breakingline of the inserted cup which receives the second inserted cup.

If there is only one second inserted cup, the impact edge formed by thecontinuation of the wall of the cup strikes the annular step of thebottom of the first inserted cup. Several second inserted cups are alsoprovided, each of which will form impact edges inserted in one anotherin order to tear open the bottom of the inserted cup which receives ineach case the second inserted cup. The loosening of a bottom from theinserted cup is assured in a simple and reliable manner. Cup wall andcup bottom remain connected by a web of material, so that the bottom ofthe cup is suspended from the cup wall even when the predeterminedbreaking line has been torn open and does not drop into the outercontainer.

When the screw cap is screwed down on the outer container, the insertedcups are pushed together in telescopic manner, the annular steps of thecup bottoms being acted on in succession by the impact collars. Theinnermost second inserted cup is in this case advantageously acted on byan impact collar formed on the screw cap. The second inserted cups areso inserted one within the other that they are axially displaceable. Adrive projection is preferably developed on the outer cup wall of thesecond inserted cup, said projection being arranged between a drive edgeand a stop edge and being acted upon by them. If only one secondinserted cup is provided then the stop edge is formed by a rim of thefirst inserted cup which surrounds the neck opening of the outercontainer. The drive edge is then formed by the end surface of a drivecollar which is associated with the screw cap.

If several second inserted cups placed one within the other are providedin order to receive more than merely three components, then the driveprojection of each second inserted cup strikes the stop edge formed bythe upper edge of the inserted cup receiving it upon the furtherscrewing on of the screw cap. If the last-mentioned inserted cup is alsoa second inserted cup, it is displaced axially by the striking on itsupper edge. The drive projection is so arranged that after the tearingof the predetermined breaking line of the innermost second inserted cupthe drive projection is acted upon by the drive edge of the screw capupon further screwing on of the screw cap. After the tearing of thepredetermined breaking line of the first inserted cup, its stop edge isacted on by the drive projection of the second inserted cup inserted init upon the further screwing on of the screw cap. The drive projectionis preferably developed in the manner that it annularly surrounds thesecond inserted cup.

In order to obtain optimal separation of the predetermined breakingline, the cross-sectional surfaces formed by the impact edge and theannular step extend perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the screwcap. Furthermore, a distance is provided between the impact edge and theannular step when the screw cap is not screwed on. In order to assurethe dependable holding of the screw cap on the outer container when thescrew cap is not screwed down, a circumferential detent edge is providedon the neck opening of the outer container, via which detent edge thescrew cap is clipped on by means of an annular bead. By these and otherrubbing surfaces of the screw cap with outer a container and insertedcups, greater force for the screwing down is required. A screwing downand the separation of the intended breaking lines connected therewithfor the bringing together of the components is thus possible only byintentional turning of the screw cap. The closure cap advantageously hasan opening which can be closed by a closure cap. In this way, the screwcap need not be removed in order to remove the component mixture, thedischarge of the mixture being effected rather through all inserted cupsthrough the opening of the screw cap.

In order to prevent the individual components mixing with each otherbefore the tearing of the intended breaking lines, a sealing bead isarranged between the cup wall and the impact collar extending therein.This bead, which is formed on the cup wall, tightly surrounds the impactcollar and is applied so closely that a radial application pressureprevails. For the dependable parallel guidance of the axiallydisplaceable second inserted cups, two beads parallel to each other areprovided. In this way, a double sealing can furthermore be effected. Thebottom of the cup can be developed in pot shape. This permits simplermanufacture. In order to prevent a shearing off of the web upon thefurther screwing down of the protective cap and to assure an effectiveswinging off of the cup bottoms after the tearing of the intendedbreaking lines, the webs which connect the cup bottom with the cup wallform a run-on ramp for the impact edges of the impact collar when thepredetermined breaking line is torn.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to anembodiment shown in the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows a multicomponent package in a half section in the basicsales position,

FIG. 2 is a view in accordance with FIG. 1 but with the screw capscrewed down completely, and

FIG. 3 shows a further development of a screw cap of a multicomponentpackage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The multicomponent package shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 consists of an outercontainer 1 into which a first inserted cup 2 is inserted. A secondinserted cup 3 is received within the first inserted cup 2. A screw cap4 is screwed onto the outer container 1, said cap having an openingwhich is closed by a closure cap 5.

The first inserted cup 2 is inserted in the outer container 1 in such amanner that its cup edge 29 extends over the neck opening of the outercontainer 1. The inserted cup 2 is clipped into the outer container 1 sothat axial displacement of this first inserted cup 2 is not possibleupon normal use of the multicomponent package. In particular, however,said clip engagement is intended to avoid the inserted cup 2 againjumping upward after the filling of the outer container 1 and thesubsequent insertion of the inserted cup 2 as a result of thecompression occurring thereby in the bottle. If this should happen,then, after the placing on of the remaining telescopic system, theinserted cup 2 would not have the correct sealed position with respectto the bottle, that is to say, the outer container 1, or it would forceitself, due to the telescopic system, into the correct sealing positionbut then, later on, the intended breaking places mentioned below wouldbe unfavorably prematurely stressed. It should not happen that theplaces of intended breakage take up assembly work.

The second inserted cup 3 has its impact collar 8 inserted into thefirst inserted cup 2. The impact collar 8 is extended beyond the cupbottom 7 by an axial extension of cup wall 21.

The impact collar 9, which is integral with the screw cap 4, extendsinto the second inserted cup 3.

Each cup wall 20, 21 has two annular beads 16, 17, 18, 19 which areannularly formed on the inner wall of the cup. The inside diameter ofthese beads 16, 17, 18, 19 is so dimensioned that they tightly surroundthe corresponding surrounding impact collars 8, 9 and act on them with aradial pressure so that a seal is formed.

First insert cup 2 and second insert cup 3 each have a pot-shaped bottom6, 7 which is connected to the cup wall 20, 21 by a predeterminedbreaking line 10, 11. The cup bottoms 6, 7 furthermore have annularsteps 14, 15 which form a plane perpendicular to the screwing axis ofthe screw cap. The impact edges 8', 9' of the impact collars 8, 9 extendparallel to the these annular steps 14, 15 at a distance away a, b. Thedistances a and b correspond approximately to the wall thickness of thecontainer bottoms 6 and 7 respectively.

The second cup 3 is furthermore annularly surrounded by a driveprojection 26. The drive projection 26 is arranged between the stop edgeformed by the cup edge 29 of the first inserted cup 2 and the drive edge28' formed by the end surface of a drive collar associated with thescrew cap 4.

Cup bottoms 6, 7 and cup walls 20, 21 are in each case connected by aweb 12, 13. This web material 12, 13, when the intended breaking line10, 11 is broken, forms a firm physical connection in the form of a filmhinge between the edge of the cup bottom 6, 7 and cup wall 20, 21.

In the basic sales position only a few threads of the screw cap 4 andthe outer container 1 are engaged with each other. The screw cap 4 issecured against the unscrewing of the screw cap 4 from the outercontainer 1 by a detent bead 25 which grips over the detent edge 24 ofthe outer container 1.

If the screw cap 4 is now screwed down further, the impact edge 9 isshifted downward and its impact edge 9' strikes against the annular step15 of the second inserted cup 3. Further screwing down then either firstof all displaces the second inserted cup 3 downward by the displacementpath a, so that the impact edge 8' of the impact collar 8 strikesagainst the annular step 14, or the annular step 15 is so acted on bythe impact edge 9' that the intended breaking line 11 is torn open.After the tearing of the predetermined breaking line 11, the impactcollar 9 is displaced further downward, it coming onto the run-on bevelformed by the web 13 and swinging the cup bottom 7 downward. Thisrelative movement of impact collar 9 with respect to the second insertedcup 3 is continued until the drive projection 26 is acted on by thedrive edge 28' of the drive collar 28.

Further downward screwing of the screw cap 4 now leads to the annularstep 14 being acted on by the impact edge 8' of the impact collar 8until the predetermined breaking line 10 of the first inserted cup hasbeen torn. Further axial displacement of the second inserted cup 3downward leads to the impact collar 8 running onto the run-on bevelformed by the web 12 together with the annular step 14 and to afollowing swinging of the cup bottom 6 towards the side.

The screwing down of the screw cap 4 can be continued until the driveprojection 26 strikes against the stop edge 27. This is the positionshown in FIG. 2.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the closure cap 5 is ascrewable reclosable cap. In the case of the screw cap 4 shown in FIG.3, the closure cap 5 is formed on the screw cap and can be twisted offin order to open the screw-cap opening. Nevertheless, the closure cap 5,which in this case is developed in the form of a stopper, can be closedagain in the manner that the upper section adjoining the correspondingplace of intended breakage is pressed into the corresponding opening ofthe screw cap. Of course, other means can also be used here in order toobtain the possibility of reclosing, for instance in the form of a screwclosure. In the version in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2, the liftingoff of the screw cap is still considered as a screwing technique insofaras a single-flank guide is present, formed by circumferential ramps,visible in FIG. 2, which cooperate with mating ramps of the closure cap5 present there. The placing on can be effected there correspondinglyrapidly since it is merely necessary to overcome an insertion detentwhich acts between the upper end of the impact collar 9 and the closurecap 5. As stated, a conventional version of screwing can also take theplace of the ramp development.

The nonintegral closure cap 5 consists of polyethylene (PE). It issofter than the screw cap 4, which is made of polypropylene (PP) which,as shown in FIG. 3, is developed directly on the closure cap 5. On theother hand, with respect to the second inserted cup 3 which assumes aramp function, recourse is had to high density polyethylene (HDPE),which is harder than the material of which the first inserted cup 2 ismade. The latter consists of low density polyethylene (LDPE). The screwcap 4 which serves as actuating handle is relatively harder than the twoinserted cups 2, 3, the soft-tough material of which satisfies thefunctional demands of the film-hinge bridge material, particularly well.

I claim:
 1. A multi-component package having an outer container with aneck opening in a top of the container, and a screw cap attachable tosaid container for covering said opening;a first cup formed by a firstbottom wall integrally connected to a first sidewall, there being anannular step between said first bottom wall and said first sidewalldefining a line of weakness to enable separation of said first bottomwall from said first sidewall, said first cup being located within saidcontainer with a bottom of said first cup being adjacent to a bottom ofa neck said container; an impact collar having an annular sidewall withan open bottom edge coaxial to said container and to said first cup; asecond cup disposed in said container between said first cup and the topof said container, said second cup having a second bottom wall and asecond sidewall connecting with the second bottom wall via a line ofweakness, said second cup being connected to an inside surface of saidannular sidewall of said impact collar, said impact collar extendingfrom said first cup to encircle said second cup, and an outer surface ofsaid annular sidewall of said impact collar being sealed to said firstcup; wherein rotation of said screw cap relative to said containercauses separation of the connection between said second cup and saidannular sidewall of said impact collar to force said second sidewall ofsaid second cup towards said second bottom wall to separate said secondbottom wall of said second cup from said second sidewall; and uponfurther movement of said impact collar away from the top of saidcontainer, said bottom edge of said impact collar engages with saidannular step of said first cup to separate the first bottom wall of saidfirst cup from said first sidewall.
 2. A multi-component package havingan outer container with a neck opening in a top of the container, and ascrew cap attachable to said container for covering said opening;a firstcup formed by a first bottom wall integrally connected to a firstsidewall, there being an annular step between said first bottom wall andsaid first sidewall defining a line of weakness to enable separation ofsaid first bottom wall from said first sidewall, said first cup beinglocated within said container with a bottom of said first cup beingadjacent to the bottom of a neck said container; a web which connectssaid first bottom wall of said first cup with said first sidewall; afirst impact collar having an annular sidewall with an open bottom edgecoaxial to said container and to said first cup, an outer surface ofsaid annular sidewall of said impact collar being sealed to said firstcup; a second cup disposed in said container between said first cup andthe top of said container, said second cup having a second bottom walland a second sidewall connecting with the second bottom wall, saidsecond cup having an annular step in the region of a line of intendedbreakage; a second impact collar which extends into said second cup,said second impact collar having an impact edge aligned with saidannular step of said second cup for interaction with said step, therebeing a seal present between an outer surface of the second impactcollar and the second sidewall of said second cup, said second impactcollar extending from said screw cap, said second cup being displaceablealong an axis of said container; wherein rotation of said screw caprelative to said container causes movement of said first impact collaraway from the top of said container, said bottom edge of said impactcollar engaging with said annular step of said first cup to separate thefirst bottom wall of said first cup from said first sidewall, said webretaining a physical connection between said first bottom wall and saidfirst sidewall.
 3. A multicomponent package, according to claim 1,wherein said impact collar is formed on said screw cap.
 4. Amulticomponent package, according to claim 1, wherein said second cup isdisplaceable along an axis of said container.
 5. A multicomponentpackage, according to claim 1, wherein said screw cap has a drive edgeand said impact collar has a stop edge facing said drive edge; andadrive projection is developed on the second sidewall of said second cupand is arranged between said stop edge and said drive edge to be drivenby said drive and said stop edges.
 6. A multicomponent package,according to claim 5, wherein said stop edge grips over the neck openingof said container, said screw cap has drive collar extending along anexterior of said container, and said drive edge is formed by the endsurface of said drive collar of said screw cap.
 7. A multicomponentpackage, according to claim 5, wherein, upon a tearing of the weaknessline said second cup, the drive projection is acted on by the drive edgeupon a further screwing down of said screw cap.
 8. A multicomponentpackage, according to claim 5, wherein, upon a tearing of the weaknessline of said first cup, the stop edge is acted on by the driveprojection upon a further screwing down of said cap.
 9. A multicomponentpackage, according to claim 5, further comprising a plurality ofinterested cups including said first and said second cups, there being aprojection for each cup in addition to said first cup, there being astop edge for each cup in addition to said first cup, the driveprojection of each additional cup acting on the stop edge formed by theupper edge of the cup receiving the projection upon a further screwingdown of said screw cap.
 10. A multicomponent package, according to claim5, wherein said drive projection is developed annularly surrounding saidsecond cup.
 11. A multicomponent package, according to claim 1, whereincross-sectional surfaces formed by the impact edge and the annular stepextend perpendicular to an axis of rotation of said screw cap.
 12. Amulticomponent package, according to claim 1, further comprising a spacebetween the impact edge and the annular step.
 13. A multicomponentpackage, according to claim 1, further comprising a detent beadextending circumferentially from said screw cup, and a detent edge whichis formed on the container and surrounds the neck opening, wherein saidscrew cap is secured by the detent bead to the detent edge.
 14. Amulticomponent package, according to claim 1, further comprising aclosure cap, and wherein said screw cap has an opening which can beclosed by the closure cap.
 15. A multicomponent package, according toclaim 1, further comprising two parallel beads extending from the firstsidewall of said first cup toward said impact collar, and two parallelbeads extending from said impact collar to the second sidewall of saidsecond cup.
 16. A multicomponent package, according to claim 1, whereinthe cup bottom of each cup is concave.
 17. A multicomponent package,according to claim 2, wherein, upon a tearing of a weakness line duringmovement of an impact edge of said first impact collar, said web guidesthe impact edge of said first impact collar.
 18. A multicomponentpackage, according to claim 14, wherein said closure cap is fabricatedof polyethylene (PE) and said screw cap is fabricated of polypropylene(PP), each cup is fabricated of high density polyethylene (HDPE) exceptfor the first of said cups which is fabricated of a low densitypolyethylene (LDPE), and the closure cap of polyethylene (PE) is softerthan the polypropylene (PP) of the screw cap, which in its turn issofter than the high density polyethylene (HDPE) of the inserted cup,which in its turn is harder than the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) ofthe first inserted cup.
 19. A multicomponent package, according to claim2, wherein said impact collar is formed on said screw cap.
 20. Amulticomponent package, according to claim 2, wherein thecross-sectional surfaces formed by the impact edge and the annular stepextend perpendicular to an axis of rotation of said screw cap.
 21. Amulticomponent package, according to claim 2, further comprising a spacebetween the impact edge and the annular step.
 22. A multicomponentpackage, according to claim 2, further comprising a detent beadextending circumferentially from said screw cap, and a detent edge whichis formed on the container and surrounds the neck opening, wherein saidscrew cap is secured by the detent bead to the detent edge.
 23. Amulticomponent package, according to claim 2, further comprising aclosure cap, and wherein said screw cap has an opening which can beclosed by the closure cap.
 24. A multicomponent package, according toclaim 2, further comprising two parallel beads extending from the firstsidewall of said first cup toward said impact collar, and two parallelbeads extending from said impact collar to the second sidewall of saidsecond cup.
 25. A multicomponent package, according to claim 2, whereinthe cup bottom of a cup is concave.